The weekly sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1887-06-16
EARLY PHOTOGRAPHY.
INTERESTING INCIDENTS OF THE
ART IN ITS INFANT DAYS.

NTERESTlN ING lNCiDEN . OF he
ART IN ITS INFANT DAYS.
Prof. 5. L. II. Morse the Pioneer in Da-
euerreotype WorE-The First sun Pic
ture Ever Taken in America-How 1t
Was Done.
There are some interesting memoirs con-
nected with early photography in this
country and city. Photography dawned
on the world at about the same time as
telegraphy and at about the same date
steam rliIroadin'. And Morse, the leadin'
man in the telegraph, and Daguerre, the
leadin' man in the photograph tat first
called the daguerreotype), became personal
friends, and each got interested in the
others lines-a thing which very seldom
happens to that class of people.
Morse when he was i'll Paris tryin' to
push his Iisshtnin messages, was intro
duced by Robert Walsh, of Philadelphia,
the American consul at Paris, to Mons.
Daguerre, who was tryin' to push his sun
pictures. The two men took a great fancy
to each other, just like two brothers;
showed each other their inventions
and told each other their plans. Each
promised 20 help the other after he had
first helped himself, and each kept his
promise.
Daguerre never got a chance to be of
much real aid to Morse in Paris, but he
did what he could all the same-talked
enthusiastically about the telegraph and
shrugged his shoulders enthusiastically,
as only Il Frenchman can But Morse,
when he got back TO New York, took hold
of his chum Daguerre's hobby and intro
dHced it into the metropolis. The first
telecrapher may thus be said to have been
the first photographer.
There was at this time in New York Il
fine instrument maker, almost n genius in
his way, called ProSch who had shop
in a basement on Nassau street, very
curious sort of place; den of scientific
odds and ends, haunted by odd and Scien-
tific men. Morse saw Prosch and gave
him full idea of Daguerre's inventions,
and showed him plan of the apparatus
needed to carry out Daguerre's ideas. He
also gave Prosch an order to make this
apparatus. Prosch set to work and made
a rude affair, which was the first picture
taking apparatus ever made in this coun-
try, and turned it over to Morse. And
then one mornn', q really memorable
lnornin', in its way, Morse, with the aid
of this rude instrument, took the first sun
picture or daguerreotype ever taken IN
America.
He took it off of the steps leadin' to
| Prosch's den. He placed the camera on
the steps and got pretty good picture of
the old brick church the Rev. DR.. Springs
church, opposite to the city hall-on the
spot now occupied by the Times news
paper and the Potter buildin'. In the
foreground of this picture was hack, and
its sleepy horse, with its still more sleepy
! driver.
! This first daguerreotype or photo
! graph was, of course, a primitive affair,
| worse than IL tintype now, but it was, neY-
ertheless, Il great, wonderful thing under
! the circumstances. 1t demonstrated that
| pictures of the earth and things and peo-
! pie on it, could be taken by the aid of the
sun, just DIS certainly and truthfully as
ideas could be transmitted by electricity,
and really one fact was almost as import
| ant as the other. 1t was a truly memoir
able mornin' in New York when Morse
took the first daguerreotype off of Prosch' S
| basement steps, althOu@lrit then took him
nearly an hour, all in all. to complete the
operation
Professor Draper was i great friend OF
| Morse and he got interested III H., now
| thing. III ami Morse cxi:criil.si:,-i -
| gether. Draper was great ca c.'....t..,. "
He soon improves; on the ORR: ~; -, re
otype, and one day he -; '..::..>' :",'se
by t3lln' III: !-ir.sc'.'i 'e:,l.,' .'i.A his
eyes open, giving tie il.;t 'lr. c,1!, -; OF
| the eyes.
This was Il big step onward; Tor i: i.-<t
all the pictures taken of llu:na.l hc.ii :
had to be taken with the eyes closed, O.:
account of the glare. Imagine d prctt )
woman sittin' for her picture and hayin
not only to hold her tongue h"t close ilcl
eyeS-Shut her eyes wei as shut up
1t would be as hard that way to have
your picture taken us your tooth taken.
Draper and Morse used to take theil
early pictures from I, window of the ole
university builGin', where Morse lived
One of their successful pictures the
tower of the Church of Messiah, about
the size of Il playin' card. The first pict
ures were all of 'em pictures of buildin'S
streets and SO on. But at last Morse tool
portrait-put the human face and figur,
into Il sun picture. This was II step on
ward and upward; for as Morse took hi
first object picture ON the steps leadin' tt
Prosch's cellar, so he took his first fact
and figure picture on top of the universit.
buildin', i'll u sort of a studio he hat
erected there on the roof, and Which wa
the first Photographic ''studio" eve
started in America.
The first lady whose picture was eve
taken by the sunlight in this city was tn
young daughter of Professor Morse. TIL
next lady taken was his daughter
i bosom friend, and the pictures taken O
these two are still in existence among tn
, choicest curiosities and treasures of Vas
sar college.
The first man in New York who mad
a regular business of talxin' pictures Q
: photographs was the instrument make
/, Prosch, whom have already mentioned
Prosch saw a big thing in it, and opene
what he called a ''daguerring gallery Q
!. the corner of Liberty street and Broat
way His first sitter and customer wa
Professor West, of the old Rutgers femal
institute, who was thus the very frs
t man who ever paid to have his photograp
taken, all the other pictures up to tn
: time havin' been taken as an experiment
: free.
But the professor paid for his picture
like man, and from that time on tt
business of takin' pictures has fourishe
in New York TT would ,ooka n nh